The Georgia Tech Quantum Institute (GTQI) is a multi-disciplinary effort to explore and develop
quantum information science and technology. The GTQI mission is to combine the strengths in
engineering and technology at Georgia Tech with the emerging field of quantum information science
in order to advance both fundamental science and emerging quantum information technologies.

Using engineering to further developments in quantum science

During the past decade there has been an explosive growth in the exploration of the information
processed in the quantum regime. During this period we have learned how to isolate physical
systems from their interactions with the surrounding environment so that we can initialize quantum
states of the system and then let the isolated system evolve coherently with well defined
interactions between selected components of the system. This evolving system can be measured with
high fidelity in order to determine, as best as can be done according to quantum theory, the final
state of the system after evolution for some period of time. Examples of these coherently evolving
systems include cold trapped ions, ultra cold atoms in optical lattices, superconducting current
loops and electron spins. Although much progress has been made with these isolated quantum systems,
there are still many challenges including still further decoupling the system from the environment,
increasing the number of quantum information units (qubits) in the system and implementing more
precise control of the qubit interactions. Many of these goals will require drawing on expertise
from a wide range of science and engineering disciplines including physics, chemistry, mathematics,
electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, optical engineering, materials engineering,
and microelectronics.

Using quantum science to develop novel engineering devices

The future appears to be filled with promise that our rapidly developing understanding of quantum
information will lead to revolutionary new technologies. Some quantum regime applications and
products have already emerged in the domain of quantum key distribution, an ultra strong security
technology enabled from the quantum properties of light. A virtually unlimited application space
emerges as the ability to process quantum information at the quantum level develops. Richard
Feynman envisaged a quantum analog simulator custom designed to simulate another physical system.
Now 25 years later we have the tools to actually build an analog quantum simulator using cold
trapped ions or atoms. These quantum simulators can simulate material systems such as quantum
magnets and high temperature superconductors that can not possibly be done at present using
classical computing techniques. The classical simulation techniques are limited to only 30 to 100
particles, number counts far too small for realistic material system simulations. It seems within
our grasp to model "real" condensed matter systems, for example fermion systems with of the order
of hundreds of particles, and molecules using quantum simulators. This would allow custom
simulation of important characteristics such as material defects, strain and novel atomic
arrangements. These simulations could lead to optimized characteristics for materials systems
including higher temperature superconductors, quantum magnetic materials for spintronics
applications and even possibly new drugs for medical applications.